Dogecoin Explodes To $2 Billion, Reaches All-Time High

This cryptocurrency just reached a $2 billion market capitalization this weekend.

Dogecoin, which is based on a popular internet meme, doubled its market capitalization over the past two weeks.

According to Coinmarket, Dogecoin has since cooled to about $1.7 billion after hitting its fresh all-time high.

What is Dogecoin?

Dogecoin is a virtual token was created in 2013 by Jackson Palmer to help users send and receive money online. Its mascot is a Japanese shiba inu dog.

Dogecoin, like Ripple and Ethereum, is considered an altcoin. An altcoin is an open source, peer-to-peer digital token that is an alternative to bitcoin.

Like other cryptocurrencies, Dogecoin can be mined or purchased on exchanges.

Unlike bitcoin, the supply of Dogecoin is plentiful with over 100 billion coins outstanding.

What has driven Dogecoin’s explosive growth?

Investors who missed out on bitcoin’s rapid rise are looking for cryptocurrency alternatives.

FOMO, or the fear of missing out, is driving investors to seek other cryptocrrencies that haven’t experienced the same explosive growth that Bitcoin and Ethereum have.

Think of it as a relative value play in that investors who missed out on bitcoin are looking for crypto assets that they perceive as “cheaper” compared to Bitcoin.

Many of the altcoin cryptocurrencies seek to build on the success of bitcoin and operate in similar ways.

However, some cryptocurrencies seek to offer improvements related to privacy, proof-of-stake and transaction speed, among other features.

In terms of relative size, Bitcoin’s market capitalization is more than 100 times larger than Dogecoin’s.

(Ed note: Investing in cryptocoins or tokens is highly speculative and the market is largely unregulated. Anyone considering it should be prepared to lose their entire investment. Disclosure: I don’t own any cryptocoins or tokens).

Zack Friedman is a keynote speaker and Founder & CEO ofMake Lemonade, a personal finance comparison site that helps you save money and live a better financial life.